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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / February 2007

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Changing antifreeze when changing water pump

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Sasha - 30 Jan 2007 01:45 GMT
I am going to change timing belt, tensioner pulley, water pump and
thermostat on my Nissan Quest 2001 following my mechanic's
recommendations. He also recommends changing antifreeze when changing
water pump. Since i am supplying him all parts what kind of antifreeze
do i need and how much of it is needed?
Knifeblade_03 - 30 Jan 2007 03:20 GMT
Honestly, I am not meaning to be rude or flippant, however~~~~~~~

1] If you bought the parts yourself, ask whoever sold them to you. I
presume you purchased from a parts store.

2] Call a Nissan dealer, ask for parts dept., see if they can give you
the info. you want.

3] Ask any parts store, most are usually willing to help, hoping you
come in to buy the a/f from them.

4] Goto Nissan forum, post this ? there, chances are someone would
know. I'm afraid I don't know at this time.

If you have an owner's manual, it should tell you the quart or gallon
capacity of your cooling system.  or #2 or #3 might give you that.  It
should also recommend the type of a/f your system requires.  From that
info., you generally want to mix the a/f 50/50 with water for a good
general range of coolant protection.

As far as what type a/f to use, if unsure for some reason, look at
Prestone, they have some a/f that is compatible with all systems, get
that.

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Knifeblade_03

http://www.automotiveforums.com

E Meyer - 30 Jan 2007 15:43 GMT
On 1/29/07 7:45 PM, in article
1170121520.636367.292500@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com, "Sasha"
<agalkin@audible.com> wrote:

> I am going to change timing belt, tensioner pulley, water pump and
> thermostat on my Nissan Quest 2001 following my mechanic's
> recommendations. He also recommends changing antifreeze when changing
> water pump. Since i am supplying him all parts what kind of antifreeze
> do i need and how much of it is needed?

When you take off the water pump and thermostat to replace them, pretty much
all the antifreeze that is in there is going to run out.  Your mechanic
would be replacing it anyway.  I think he is just giving you the opportunity
to provide the anti-freeze along with the other parts.  There can be
compatibility issues with different antifreezes vs. the Nissan stuff that is
already in there.  If he isn't planning to do a flush, the safest thing is
to have him use more Nissan stuff (get it at a dealer).  Your owner's manual
will tell home much you need.  You mix it 50/50 with water when you use it,
so buy half as much as the listed capacity.
Sasha - 30 Jan 2007 17:50 GMT
Thank you for your response. My car manual says total coolant capacity
is 11 1/2 quarts and it is 50/50. Can I buy Prestone 50/50 premixed
anti-freeze? What else should be done when doing this? Should radiator
be flushed or it is assumed to be doen when replacing anti-freeze?

> On 1/29/07 7:45 PM, in article
> 1170121520.636367.292...@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com, "Sasha"
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> will tell home much you need.  You mix it 50/50 with water when you use it,
> so buy half as much as the listed capacity.
Noozer - 30 Jan 2007 18:15 GMT
> Thank you for your response. My car manual says total coolant capacity
> is 11 1/2 quarts and it is 50/50. Can I buy Prestone 50/50 premixed
> anti-freeze?

WHY? Get 6 quarts of normal and use 6 quarts of water... Unless you like
paying $10 quart for water.

BTW, why are you buying car parts for your mechanic when you don't even know
the most basic of auto skills?
Scott Dorsey - 30 Jan 2007 20:49 GMT
>Thank you for your response. My car manual says total coolant capacity
>is 11 1/2 quarts and it is 50/50. Can I buy Prestone 50/50 premixed
>anti-freeze? What else should be done when doing this? Should radiator
>be flushed or it is assumed to be doen when replacing anti-freeze?

1. If you look in the owner's manual, it will tell you if you can use
  conventional antifreeze or you need something special.

2. If you can use conventional antifreeze, there is no reason you cannot
  mix the new antifreeze with the OEM antifreeze.

3. HOWEVER, this would be a good time to flush the system out and replace
  all the antifreeze while the thing is apart on the floor anyway.

4. If the vehicle will use conventional antifreeze, the premix will work,
  however the premix costs between two and five times as much as buying
  the normal concentrate.  It is generally a ripoff.
--scott

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"C'est un Nagra.  C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Nate Nagel - 31 Jan 2007 00:30 GMT
>>Thank you for your response. My car manual says total coolant capacity
>>is 11 1/2 quarts and it is 50/50. Can I buy Prestone 50/50 premixed
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>    the normal concentrate.  It is generally a ripoff.
> --scott

Also if you flush the system with water you won't want to use premix.
You should add half the system's capacity of full strength antifreeze
and then top up with water.  Reason is when you flush there will be
water sitting in the low points of the system that is impossible to get
out without turning the car upside down, so if you just fill with
premix, your mix will be a little weak.

nate

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Tegger - 01 Feb 2007 18:20 GMT
> On 1/29/07 7:45 PM, in article
> 1170121520.636367.292500@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com, "Sasha"
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> When you take off the water pump and thermostat to replace them,
> pretty much all the antifreeze that is in there is going to run out.

Are you sure? Most cars I'm aware of have a block drain, which needs to be
pulled in addition to the items you list. There can be a quart or more
stuck in the block.

Maybe the Nissan is different, I don't know.

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Tegger

cuhulin@webtv.net - 01 Feb 2007 18:33 GMT
If the antifreeze/water mix is old,I would change it out for fresh.As
much of it as I could.
cuhulin
E Meyer - 02 Feb 2007 13:21 GMT
On 2/1/07 12:20 PM, in article Xns98CA878A1B629tegger@207.14.116.130,

>> On 1/29/07 7:45 PM, in article
>> 1170121520.636367.292500@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com, "Sasha"
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Maybe the Nissan is different, I don't know.

You're right.  Nissans have block drains, though they are usually uselessly
inaccessible, unlike Hondas.  There will still be some coolant in the block
& the heater core probably won't drain unless the valve is open.  The
radiator is going to empty out though.  My point was that enough of it comes
out when you change those parts that it doesn't make sense not to change the
coolant.
z - 02 Feb 2007 19:06 GMT
> Are you sure? Most cars I'm aware of have a block drain, which needs to be
> pulled in addition to the items you list. There can be a quart or more
> stuck in the block.

Have you ever managed to get that open in your Acura? I've never
gotten the one in the Honda to open; the head is very shallow and
acess is somewhat restricted and it just rounds off. The funny part is
I went into the dealer parts dept to buy a new one to replace it
presuming I ever got it off, and the parts guys and service guys
didn't even know there was a drain there until I showed them in the
service manual. At that point, I gave up the idea of getting it open
and just flush the system once the radiator drain is open.
E Meyer - 03 Feb 2007 04:22 GMT
On 2/2/07 1:06 PM, in article
1170443215.277358.234050@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com, "z"

>> Are you sure? Most cars I'm aware of have a block drain, which needs to be
>> pulled in addition to the items you list. There can be a quart or more
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> service manual. At that point, I gave up the idea of getting it open
> and just flush the system once the radiator drain is open.

Different Acura for me, but the only block drain I have ever encountered
that was both accessible and functional is the one on the 2000 3.2 TL.
Tegger - 03 Feb 2007 14:23 GMT
>> Are you sure? Most cars I'm aware of have a block drain, which needs
>> to be pulled in addition to the items you list. There can be a quart
>> or more stuck in the block.
>
> Have you ever managed to get that open in your Acura?

Since the warranty ran out in '94, every second year.

I only ever use Honda antifreeze, and change it every two years without
fail.

Even with frequent removal, I still have to be careful, and have to use
a 3' cheater bar on my ratchet.

> I've never
> gotten the one in the Honda to open; the head is very shallow and
> acess is somewhat restricted and it just rounds off.

Are you using a 6-point well-fitting socket? If the bolt is badly
rounded now, you may be stuck.

I suppose you could get it off by using a grinder to make a flat on the
bolt sufficient to use an air hammer to drive it off. Luckily the bolt
is situated such (on 4-cyls) that you can hammer on the side away from
the exhaust manifold, making it easier to get some leverage.

> The funny part is
> I went into the dealer parts dept to buy a new one to replace it
> presuming I ever got it off, and the parts guys and service guys
> didn't even know there was a drain there until I showed them in the
> service manual.

Dummies.

> At that point, I gave up the idea of getting it open
> and just flush the system once the radiator drain is open.

The only problem is that the block fluid will have been diluted to an
unknown extent. If forced to leave the block drain in place, I would
consider the block to be pure water and mix my antifreeze to accommodate
a quart of pure water already in the system. This means you can't use
Honda premix.

And since you've got some old fluid in there all the time, I'd use long-
life coolant and change it every two years instead of every five.

Signature

Tegger

z - 05 Feb 2007 16:55 GMT
> The only problem is that the block fluid will have been diluted to an
> unknown extent. If forced to leave the block drain in place, I would
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> --
> Tegger

My thinking exactly.
SnThetcOil - 03 Feb 2007 15:16 GMT
> I am going to change timing belt, tensioner pulley, water pump and
> thermostat on my Nissan Quest 2001 following my mechanic's
> recommendations. He also recommends changing antifreeze when changing
> water pump. Since i am supplying him all parts what kind of antifreeze
> do i need and how much of it is needed?  >>.

 One thing I'd like to point out here is that if you supply the parts
to the auto center doing the work and one of those parts fails in the
future, (i.e. water pump failing, not uncomon), then you will have no
warranty on the labor for the repair. This can cost you quite a bit of
money.  On the other hand, if you purchase all the needed parts from
the auto center, then those parts and the labor needed to replace them
if they fail, are covered under warranty.  This is a substantail value
to you.

                                              Steve
 
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